CH 282: Monster

“Wait, Samira!” Lily called out to her. She sat Elsie down, then rushed after Samira. “Don’t go out there.”

“I have to,” Samira’s expression was stone cold. Her eyes were dimmed, like when they first reunited.

“No, you don’t have to use your magic. We’re winning.” Lily pulled on her arm. But Samira was much stronger than her. “We’re down to the last cou-”

“Look at the state of Claire. Of Hannah.” Samira cut her off. In the brief moments that Lily had left them, the two had to give up a lot of ground. Without Elsie’s magic to support them, they were slowly losing to the three remaining enforcers. “Even Ursa is struggling.”

Lily couldn’t even argue. Ursa was steadily losing ground, even with Jasmine helping her. Her tanned skin was covered in so many slashes and stabs, that Lily was surprised she was still standing.

“Still…” Lily mumbled. She was conflicted heavily. One part of her wanted Samira to hold back and not suffer the trauma of using her magic, while the other realized the situation they were in. Even if they killed all of the enforcers, their leader looked to be on another level entirely.

“I’ll be fine.” Samira took a deep breath. “I’ve gained a lot of my mental strength back thanks to all of you.”

Lily was left speechless as Samira crossed the threshold and entered the grandiose room. There was a brief pause by every combatant, even the Scarlet Seraphs. While the enforcers were shocked to see a human/monster hybrid.

“What the fuck?” Carle swatted Ursa’s attempt at a strike away. “There’s another one?”

“Samira, no!” Claire called out. “We’ve got this. You don’t have to-”

“No.” Samira took a deep breath.

“Capture that monster.” Carle directed her women. Claire and Hannah immediately blocked their attempts to push past them. “She’ll sell for a fortune.”

She ignored the leader and surveyed the rest of them. Samira’s yellowish eyes landed on the most wounded-looking enforcer. The one Jasmine poisoned. Their eyes locked, and for a moment there was a deafening silence and everyone froze.

“Kill yourself.”

Without hesitating, the woman complied. She turned her own blade toward herself, then stabbed her chest. There was no fighting. There was no strain. Just a clean stab to her own heart. It shocked the entire battlefield as everyone paused to watch.

Jasmine finally received the mana from her death, but was far too distracted by the display before her. The woman’s werewolf form sprang from her body, only to lock eyes with Samira once more. It bowed its head towards the lamia as she turned to the other enforcers.

“Kill them.”

The wolf turned on the closest one and immediately pounced. Then, the fighting resumed. The shock of Samira and her magic was quickly drowned out by the clashing of steel. However, Samira watched over the battle in its entirety. She was looking for opportunities to compel their enemies.

All they had to do was weaken them, then she could take control if need be.

“Miss Samira,” Toni grabbed her hand. “I-I’m sorry you have to do this.”

“Don’t be.” Samira’s voice was still cold. It was a far cry from the soothing voice Toni was used to. “And don’t distract yourself with me. Hannah needs you.”

“But-”

“No.” Samira shook her head. “I’m tired of being coddled.”

Ana was too busy keeping her companions alive to chime in. She barely had the time to inform her sister of the situation. She was doing her best to help both fronts, but was also quickly draining her mana. She was on the verge of joining Elsie.

Claire, on the other hand, was cursing under her breath. She didn’t want Samira to do this. She was ready to sacrifice herself to keep Samira from using this magic again. Even in the heat of battle, she could feel the tingling sensation her Goddess left on her skin. But Claire had to wait. If she did it too early, she could fizzle out when their leader was still standing.

“Claire, focus.” Hannah’s voice cut through the noise. Usually it was the other way around, but the knight could tell she was distracted.

Claire joined the compelled wolf in attacking one of the women. Samira’s control was a bit clunky when working with Claire, but she caught on quickly. The wolf definitely made it easier to dispatch the human form. From there, Claire let the wolves fight. She moved to help Hannah, who was engaging the last enforcer.

Once they killed this one, they could all focus on Carle.

Claire stepped forward, but a blur of motion flew past her. All she could catch was Ursa’s white hair. Her attention snapped towards the Ravian as she was slammed into the wall. She lay motionless for only a moment before her own wolf form sprang free.

Claire’s body ran ice cold. Ursa was forced into her wolf form, like the women they were fighting. Her white wolf form looked far more vibrant and beautiful, but the white fur was quickly dyed red with blood. Just as fast as she was thrown, Ursa rejoined the fight in her bipedal form.

“Grab her axe,” Toni called out to her. “Hannah needs help.”

Claire threw down her sword and flung her shield towards the combatant Hannah was fighting. It let the kneeling knight get to her feet, just in time to block a blow with her shield. Claire let the shield fly past her and skitter across the floor. She picked up Ursa’s ax and charged the woman.

Hannah had lost her weapon, so she could only rely on her shield. Her right hand was holding pressure on the stab that had downed her, while Ana’s magic slowly healed it. She could see Claire charging from the corner of her eye, so she readied her skill. Her shield glowed, and she slammed into the woman with the last of her strength. Her Defensive Strike was just what Claire had needed.

She brought Ursa’s axe down and cleaved into the woman’s shoulder.

Claire felt the anger and power from the axe flow into her. Before she even realized it, she had kicked the woman off the axe. She flew into the pile of rubble, creating a cloud of dust. Claire’s body moved on its own from there.

She caught the pouncing werewolf with the handle of Ursa’s axe. The bite intended for her neck was blocked by the wooden shaft before Claire threw it to the side. She took a moment to throw off her helmet, since it was getting in the way now.

Her focus was taken away from the wolf she’d just thrown towards the main fight with Jasmine and Ursa. Ursa was faring far better now in her wolf form and was finally able to fight back. Combined with Jasmine, the two were working the leader down. Now it was Carle who was losing ground.

Claire glanced at Hannah, who was back to kneeling. Her blood was dripping down her armor, while Toni was by her side. “Get her back with Elsie. Ana, follow them.”

“But I can still help.” Ana’s voice was shaky, and her eyesight was beginning to blur. “I-I still have mana.”

“Focus on healing them,” Claire said as her body moved on its own once more. The wolf was back and wouldn’t even let her finish her sentence. With the power surging from her axe and the numbers now in their favor, Claire was finally starting to feel confident.

Still, Carle was a problem.

This was just her human form. They still needed to fight her werewolf form. It was clear to Claire that she would need to rely on her Goddess for this. She felt the tingling on her cheek transition to a burning sensation while she fought the remaining werewolf. It took only a few moments, and an assist from the compelled werewolf, for Claire to dispatch of it. She hacked its head off, then the compelled wolf’s head. She glanced back at Samira, who looked like a statue. She wasn’t moving, her eyes only following the fight.

“Samira.” Claire’s voice was calm. “Best for you to leave now.”

“No, I can still help.” Samira shook her head.

“No. Not this one.” Claire’s voice grew louder with the power surging inside of her. “She’s too strong-willed for your magic.”

Samira’s stone-cold expression vanished as her eyes widened. “Claire!”

“I know.” Claire felt oddly calm in that moment. She could feel the rush of divine magic flowing into her. It was a strange sensation. Almost like a stovetop that was just barely too hot for her to touch. But filling her entire being.

The red glow of her Goddess’s magic oozed from her skin and armor. Her hair lost its gravity and started to float, just like the Goddess in her dreams. She gripped the axe with both hands before fully giving in to her Goddess’s power.

In a blur, Claire slammed Ursa’s axe into Carle’s chest. It was faster than Jasmine or Ursa could even follow. Her divine light caused the two to avert their eyes. Yet, Carle still stood. She tanked the hit, and her smile widened. Blood poured from between her teeth as she stared crazily at Claire.

“Not even a God can kill me!” She laughed maniacally. It was coarse and weaker than her previous bravado. “Here I thought they were lying about you. Can’t wait to tell them how I killed a God!”

Claire grimaced at the woman. She could tell both her and her Goddess were disgusted by the arrogance. With a quick kick, she sent Carle’s body hurtling towards a wall. Jasmine was quick to follow up, hoping to use her Lethality skill in her wolf form. But the woman still wasn’t dead.

She got up, stopping Jasmine in her tracks. The gash from Ursa’s axe was gushing out blood as she let out a blood-curdling scream. She ran straight past Jasmine towards Claire. Towards the red glowing light. It was the only thing she could see with her fading eyesight.

But another swing of Ursa’s axe put her into the ground.

For a moment, Claire thought the fighting was all over. But that would be too easy. Instead of bursting from her dead body, the wolf seemed to shake off its human form. It had a full body of black fur, unlike the corrupted forms of her comrades. It looked far closer to Ursa’s form.

Its chilling howl as it emerged sent a chill down Jasmine’s spine. Even Ursa faltered for a moment. The only one who didn’t was Claire. The power of the Goddess was overflowing within her.

“Good.” Her Goddess spoke through her. “I want to make you suffer for what you have done to them.”